Tenant Screening in Iowa

FCRA-compliant tenant screening for landlords in Iowa — serving Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City and every other Iowa market. Reports start at $24.99 with no subscription. Iowa-specific reporting-law overlays are applied automatically before the landlord sees any record.

What landlords in Iowa can include in a screening report

• Credit report and score — TransUnion VantageScore plus tradeline detail.
• Criminal background — nationwide criminal record search with Iowa-specific look-back limits applied.
• Housing records — sealed, dismissed, and time-barred housing-court records filtered before they reach you.
• Income verification — optional payroll + bank-link verification via Pinwheel.
• AI landlord reference call — optional AI agent calls the applicant’s prior landlord and produces a structured summary.

Housing records reporting in Iowa

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies.

Statutory citation: 15 U.S.C. § 1681c

How reporting limits interact with what you may lawfully consider is covered in what landlords can screen for and the investigative consumer report explainer.

Criminal-record reporting in Iowa

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies for non-conviction items.

Fair housing in Iowa

The Iowa Civil Rights Act applies in addition to the federal Fair Housing Act. Source of income is not a statewide protected class in Iowa; check your municipal ordinance, which may add this protection locally.

What Iowa law limits when you screen and rent

These are the statutory limits most likely to affect a Iowa landlord at the application stage, compiled from state statutes and reviewed August 2026. Where a limit could not be tied to a specific statute it is left out rather than estimated. Statutes change and local ordinances often add limits your state does not — this is a starting point for your own check, not legal advice, and not a substitute for counsel licensed in Iowa.

Rental application / screening fee

Iowa sets no statewide cap on rental application or tenant screening fees; the amount is left to the landlord. Citation: No cap provision in Iowa Code ch. 562A (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law)

Security deposit limit

Iowa caps the security deposit at two months' rent: a landlord may not demand or receive a rental deposit exceeding that amount. Citation: Iowa Code § 562A.12(1) ('shall not demand or receive as a security deposit an amount or value in excess of two months' rent')

Criminal history (fair-chance housing)

Iowa has no statewide fair chance housing law restricting a landlord's use of an applicant's criminal history. Citation: No statewide statute

Local ordinances frequently add limits your state statute does not — check your city and county before you set an application fee or a deposit.

How RentalApplication.ai works for Iowa landlords

1. You start a screening at rentalapplication.ai/apply. Enter the applicant’s name and email; pick the reports you want.
2. The applicant gets an email with a secure link, completes the application, and authorizes the screening (FCRA § 1681b(b)(2)).
3. The applicant pays at the moment of submission (or you can land-lord-pay).
4. Reports are delivered to you in minutes (credit) to a few hours (housing/criminal). State-law overlays are applied before the landlord sees any record.
5. If you decline based on the report, we generate the FCRA § 1681m adverse-action notice for you.

This page is an informational summary, not legal advice. State and local landlord-tenant law changes frequently — verify against current statute and local counsel before relying on this content. RentalApplication.ai is a reseller of consumer reports under FCRA § 1681a(u) and does not make tenancy decisions. The landlord (the “end user”) is the party who decides whether to approve or deny an application.